Tidbites | Week of July 25, 2013

Although West End Tavern’s Jul-IPA festivities have nearly reached their end, it is never too late to start celebrating. On Sunday, July 28, West End Tavern will be hosting the culmination of its inaugural Jul-IPA festival from 1 to 6 p.m. The event will be held in the backyard of the Millennium Harvest House, along Boulder Creek. Along with beer, the event will also feature live music, barbecue and a chicken wing-eating competition. Twenty-eight breweries will be offering samples of some of their “biggest and baddest” IPAs, including Avery Brewing Company and Boulder Beer. Tickets are $40. For more information, visit www.westendtavern.com.

Exploring new flavors while exploring the zoo

Boulder Ice Cream will unveil a new flavor of ice cream on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Denver Zoo. The big reveal, which is part of the zoo’s Ice Cream Social, also will be part of a fundraiser that supports the zoo’s Red Apple Fund for Life-Long Learning, a group that allows low-income individuals to experience the Denver Zoo through education programs. Favorites like mango sorbet, vanilla, chocolate pudding and birthday cake will be served, in addition to Boulder Ice Cream’s new mystery flavor. Boulder Ice Cream fans can vote for the new flavor on the creamery’s Facebook page.

Tickets are on sale now and start at $5. Sales end at 5 p.m. on Aug. 5, and tickets will not be available at the door. They can be bought at www.denverzoo.com.

Longmont gets Lucky’s

North Boulder’s Lucky’s Market has announced the opening of its first expansion store, as it plans to open a Lucky’s in southern Longmont on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

The Longmont store will be nearly twice the size of the original Lucky’s, the company says in a press release. The store will include a full-service liquor store, Lucky’s Wine & Spirits, and the store will carry products from Longmont farmers and vendors.

The new Lucky’s, located at 700 Ken Pratt Blvd. in the Parkway Promenade, will hold a weeklong grand opening celebration starting with a private event on Monday, Aug. 12. Lucky’s will hold a vendor fair and charity events the weekend of Aug. 17-18. More information is available at www.luckysmarket.com.

Farm-to-table for children’s museum

Ollin Farms in Longmont will be the site of a Farm-to-Table fundraiser that will support WOW! Children’s Museum.

The dinner will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10. The menu will feature ingredients harvested and sourced from Ollin Farms and other metro-area locations. Tickets cost $60, and a full $20 of the cost goes to WOW! in the form of a donation. Tickets are available until Aug. 7.

Ollin Farms is located at 8627 N. 95th St., in Longmont. To purchase tickets, call 303-604-2424.

Cultivating in Denver’s City Park

Chipotle’s Cultivate Festival will return to Denver on Aug. 17. Starting at 11 a.m., the burrito chain’s annual event will include plenty of exciting events. The free festival, which also visits San Francisco and Chicago, includes demonstrations by world-class chefs, beer samples from many of Colorado’s best breweries and a large, live music lineup. Cold War Kids lead this year’s group of bands, and they are scheduled to take the stage at 6:15 p.m. One of the featured chefs this year is Lachlan McKinnon-Patterson, head chef at Boulder’s Frasca. Chipotle recommends using public transportation to reach the festival, which is being held at Denver’s City Park. For more information, visit www.chipotle.com/cultivate/default.aspx.

Twinkies return with a vengeance

In what was a surprise to nearly no one in Boulder, a new study released by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group confirmed what many believed to be true already: Government food subsidies support cash crops more than they do healthy foods. The report, entitled Apples to Twinkies 2013,reports that about 70 percent of government food subsidies go to only about 3 percent of American farms. The study also reveals that 17 of a Twinkie’s 37 ingredients are created or harvested with the help of government subsidy programs. To read the study, or for more information regarding government food subsidies, visit www.copirg.org.